Security Corner – Must-dos to protect information on your smartphone

Smartphones have become a daily saving grace for most everyone, while at the same time can cause a catastrophe if lost or stolen. These mighty devices, which hold a tremendous amount of personal information, are easy to lose, easy to steal, and can easily fall victim to viruses and spyware. Here are essential precautions to take in order to protect the information stored on your mobile device:

• Password protect your phone using a strong, impossible-to-guess password that does not include obvious, common words, names or dates.
• Use the auto-lock feature.
• Back up all data by synching the phone with your personal computer.
• Avoid texting or emailing personal information such as social security numbers, driver's license numbers, credit card information, etc.
• If you have a Blackberry, encrypt the stored data.
• Use Microsoft Exchange mail instead of POP or IMAP so you can take advantage of the "remote wipe" feature.
• Continue to patch and update your phone's operating system to protect against threatening viruses and spyware.
• Avoid viruses and malware by downloading apps from trusted sources.
• Immediately report a lost or stolen phone to your carrier.
• Before recycling or selling your device, erase every piece of data from the device and recheck to make sure your method has completely wiped all data.

About Dyan James

Dyan has been researching, writing, copyediting, and proofreading articles across a variety of industries since 1998. She further developed her interest and talent for covering technology while working with the guys at DCG Technical Solutions, Inc. Whether writing from scratch, copyediting or simply polishing, Dyan has mastered the art of turning rough copy or a plain idea into an eloquently written piece.